Spring-catch.



PATENTED MAY 7,1907.

T. DANQUARD. SPRING CATCH. APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1906.

.Nomus PZYERS. |NC-. LI'INO-. WMHINGTON. D-

UNI'LED STAEES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS DANQUARD, oF- NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR To THE .AUTOPIANO 00., or NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW YoRK.

SPRING-CATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 7. 1907.

application filed July 2. 1906. Serial No. 324.407.

; ofNew York, have invented a new and use rated some distance apart.

.fitl Spring-Catch, of which thefollowing is a Ispecification.

Y My invention relates. to an improvement inspring catches such as are used on organ and piano players for making the connection between the tempo lever and motor, and in other places. 1

The principal objects of the invention are to so construct the catch that it can be made of steel of lock-spring temper so that it will not have to be stamped, bent and finallyhardened, as is he case with most of those which are in pres use and also to so construct the catch that i will be Sim-- pler than is the case at present mid easier to manufacture; furthermone to provide con-- struction which willrender' connection of the parts of the catch a very simple and easy matter andtoprovide' means for, holding the parts together i micnaway that they w ill not easily-he 'disconnectedby accident.

Further objects and advantages of the invention iwill appear below."

, Refer'enceis to he had to the accompany dfewing i wh e r Figure lis an elevation of a portion of an automatic. piano showing one application ofmy improved-spring catch, Fig. 2 1s a plan. of the sprmg'cat'c ig. 3" is aside elevation of the samefFig." 4' is ,aperspective view of the catch removed from the wire, and

Fig. 5" is a plan of a modified form of wire which comes the scope of my invention.

The catch in its ordina form is intended to be applied to a wire a-w ich has a hook or bent end. a". v The wiremay be round, as shown in Fig. .2, or flattened at the point a as shown in Fig. 5. The flattening is provided for the purpose of keeping the spring from turning onthe wire.

The spring 17 itself, which is mpst clearlf shown in Fig. 4 consists of a strip of stee, preferably of c ock-spring temper. This strip has two portions 6 and I) located at an angle to each other and. they may'be sepa.

When the spring is made inthis form, the two perforations in the portions b and b being each made perpendicular to the surface of the portion in which it 18 located, 'and normally somewhat out of alinement so that when the ire is passed through the two perforations, the portions 1) and b will be brought closer togetherthan they are in normal condition. This rovides a certain amount of tension by W llCll the surfaces of the perforations will bear on the wire and hold the spring by friction in any position on the wire in which it may be placed. This is trri 0 whether the round or fiat wire is used but in case of the flat wire, the turning of the spring on .the wire is avoided. The spring is also prothe wire, a perforation 1n the tongue can be.

placed on they hook portion a of the ire and the resiliency of the spring forces the tongue against the body portion of the wire to securely hold an perforated piece that may be laced on t e projection a between the body of'the wire andv the tongueb The ton ue can be bent back when it is desired to isconnect the arts. I

The s ring catc can be used for many purposes, t e one which I have illustrated in Fig. 1 being of considerable importance. In this figure, I haveshown the catch as connecting the wire a, which extends from the motor a of an automatic piano, with the pivoted tempolever d which has a perforaiion so that it can be placed on the hook portion of the wire in the manner specified above and clearly illustrated in'the draw in s.

It will be obvious t at by placing-the s ring under tension in the manner indicated, the two portions 6 and b are forced to make a more acute angle with each other when on the wire than when oil and that by pressing them together the tension is relieved and the spring can be moved along the wire ,'until the perforation in the arm comes improper po ition with respect'to the hook a. Thus a most convenient method of adjustment isfor preventing this and keeps the catch in proper position when the perforation is out of engagement with the hook.

In the form shown in Fig. 5, the two parts I) and b are parallel and the tension is provided by the inwardly extending rounded portion of the spring which engages the flattened or round wire a.

The application of the device, which is shown in Fig. 1, is illustrated by way of example. It is to be understood that the catch (an be used for other purposes and that even here a second catch can be substituted for the threaded hook end between the catch shown and the motor.

While I have illustrated and described two particular forms in which I at present prefer to embody my invention, I am aware that many changes may be made in the construc tion thereof without departing from the spirit of my invention as expressed in the ciaims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is 1. A spring catch comprising'a resilient strip having two portions located at an angle to each other and each provided with a perforation, and a perforated tongue projecting from one of said portions, the first mentioned perforations being adapted to receive a straight wire, and the third, a projection at an angle from the wire.

2. A spring catch comprising a resilient strip of metal having two portions located at an angle with respect to each other, each being provided with a perforation, said perforations being normally out of alinenient with each other, and a tongue projecting from one of said perforations and having a perforation near its end, the angle between said portions being such that when a straight wire is passed through the'perforations therein the two por tions will be forced to assume a more acute angle with respect to each other than that which they formerly maintained.

3. In a spring catch, the combination of a.

straightwire having a hook extending therefrom, and a resilient strip of metal having two perforated portions located at an angle to each other, the perforations being so located with respect to each other that when said strip is threaded on said wire the two portions thereof will assume a more acute angle with respect to each other and a tongue extending from one of said portions and having a perforation adapted to receive the hook on said wire, the ordinary resiliency of said tongue normally forcing the perforation therein toward the body of the wire.

The combination of a wire' having a hook at the end thereof, a strip of steel of clock-spring temper having two portions provided with perforations threaded on said wire and having tension thereon, a tongue constituting a part of said steel strip and having a perforation for receiving said hook, and a lever having a perforation threaded on said hook between the body of the wire and said tongue, the resiliency of the tongue tending to hold the lever against the body of the wire.

5. The combination of a wirehaving a hook with a spring having two portions pro' vided with perforations through which the wire extends, said spring having t-ensionon the wire and having a tongue constituting a part of the spring and provided with a perforation for receiving said hook, and -a lever having a perforation through which said hook passes, the'lever being located between the wire and said tongue, the resiliency of the tongue tending to hold the lever against the body of the wire.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto setmy hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS DANQUARD. [L s.]

Witnesses:

WM. P. COLLINS, CHAS. L. JENKINS. 

